


Who You Are

by GinnyBadWolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:52:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9558110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyBadWolf/pseuds/GinnyBadWolf
Summary: Ladybug is revealed by accident, and everyone takes it differently. There are extremes on the spectrum for reactions - Adrien and Chloe. This leads to two very different results - a fight and a declaration (or two).





	

Marinette, of course, hadn’t shown up for school. It was what Adrien had expected, as well as all of their other shell-shocked classmates. 

 

The last time he had seen her, she was running away furiously. But she began the run as one person and ended it as someone else. Or maybe not someone else, persay - just someone unexpected.

 

She had detransformed in front of him and the press. Within an hour, everyone in Paris knew that Ladybug was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

 

The akuma was a difficult one, one that required lots of time, energy, and effort. Her Lucky Charm had been activated, and she spent most of her remaining five minutes wrangling with the akuma until the plan could be fulfilled, leaving her with a minimal amount of time to make her exit. In the end, she wasn’t fast enough. 

 

Her earrings had beeped loudly and she had one spot left when it was all said and done, and she instantly took off sprinting. A crowd of reporters followed in her wake, but couldn’t keep up. And yet, her effort was for nothing. Chat, watching horrified from the side, saw her speed up before there was a final beep. The moment seem slow, unreal. He could feel the terror emanating from Marinette in that last second, and reached out a hand as if to protect her. 

 

A flash of white light engulfed her, starting at her toes, and revealed delicate ballet flats, pink jeans, a blue jacket, a floral white shirt, and the shocked face of Marinette. 

 

She slowed down in her surprise and stopped. Everything was completely silent and still for just a second, and then she turned her head just so slightly to look behind her. That was all the reporters needed, and cameras flashed blindingly. She continued on her run, turned to duck behind a building, and disappeared. 

 

Chat stared after her, shocked to the core. Marinette was the girl he loved? The idea was strangely believable. But he was unable to feel much else except for  _ shock, surprise, concern, love, worry, oh god not like this.  _

 

And that brings him to today, sitting in class staring blankly at the board with tired eyes. He hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep all night. 

 

Nobody speaks in the class for the longest while, all waiting for class to start. It seems everyone is having a difficult time understanding that their clutzy, friendly, shy classmate is the hero of Paris. Some are taking it better than others. 

 

This sentiment is pronounced to the extreme when Chloe bursts into the door, only barely on time, shouting to Sabrina about something. It takes Adrien a minute to realize she is shouting about Marinette.

 

He looks behind him to see Alya, who only stares down at a picture of Ladybug on her phone, held in shaky hands. She is deaf to the complaints of Chloe. This is fortunate, because normally Alya would be outraged considering the things that Chloe is spewing currently. 

 

“I can’t believe  _ that  _ clutz is Ladybug! For god’s sake, Ladybug was my hero. Who does Marinette think she is, acting like that when she’s really just some dork?! I should be Ladybug, I’m so much better for it. Do you think Chat Noir would like me in that suit? I’d look better than Ladybug, that’s for sure-”

 

“ENOUGH!” Adrien shouts, standing. Everyone in the class stares at him in surprise, taken aback by his uncharacteristic outburst. Chloe looks at him like she doesn’t even know him. “Don’t you ever talk about Marinette that way!” 

 

Chloe narrows her eyes and stands up as well. “Why should you care? She’s just some loser pretending to be a superhero.” 

 

Adrien scowls. “Marinette isn’t a loser. And she isn’t pretending either, she is one! She saved your life, my life, and everyone’s life more times than you could count.” 

 

“So what? If I was Ladybug I could have done it so much better, and probably even without Chat Noir. She’s so stupidly dependent on him.” Adrien restrains a growl and his eye twitches.

 

“You shut up, Chloe.” He mutters, and she gasps.

 

“You can’t talk to me like that!” She whines loudly.

 

“Yes. I can and I will, because you’re a brat who insists on insulting the hero of Paris behind her back when she’s gone out of her way to save you multiple times. You have no right to talk about Marinette or Ladybug, ever!”  

 

“Says who?” 

 

“Says me!”

 

“How dare you, Adrien!” 

 

“I dare because Marinette is my hero and my friend, and she’s done more in a single day than you’ve done your entire life.” 

 

“And how would you know? You never even paid attention to her even though she obviously had a pathetic little crush on you.” 

 

Adrien takes a moment to absorb the information, looking down in shock. He clenches his fists and looks back up at her, furious. “Because I know her as well as I know myself! God damn, Chloe, you don’t understand.” 

 

She scoffs. “How would you? The most conversation you’ve ever had is a measly hello when you walk into class sometimes.” 

 

He is too angry to care about the consequences of what he’s about to do. “I know her, and I love her, because of this. Plagg, claws out!” He yells, and transforms.

 

When the torrent of green has faded from his vision, he is left in a leather suit holding his baton and facing a terrified Chloe. Everyone is absolutely silent. The second hero of Paris outed himself in quick succession to the first, and they know both of them. 

 

He hops to a window and opens it, feeling an utter distaste for staying in these four walls any longer. He perches on it for a second, looking out, and then turns back. “Don’t ever talk about my partner that way. You have no idea how much you owe us.” He says quietly, and then sees her. 

 

Marinette, walking in the door. 

 

Her hair is disheveled and it’s clear by her eyes that he has been crying recently. He clothes are wrinkled and there are dark bags under her eyes. She is staring at him, and Adrien knows that she saw him transform. The knowledge of this is shocking, relieving, and unbelievable all at the same time. 

 

“Chat?” She says shakily, and Adrien’s heart breaks. 

 

“Come with me,” He murmurs, and she drops her books and runs to the window. Everyone watches as she transforms quickly and then hops onto the windowsill, sparing a glance for her classmates before the two drop out the window. 

 

They both run for a while, completely silent. The only thing they hear is the rush of wind around them, and the soft pounding of feet on roofs. Finally, they stop when they’re as far as they can be from the school. 

 

Chat leans against a chimney, looking out onto the city. Ladybug is on the other side of the roof, holding herself and looking down. They don’t speak for a minute, and then he breaks the silence. 

 

“I-I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” He says weakly, not even sure if he’s referring to his identity or his love for her. 

 

She responds just as quietly, voice almost swept away by the wind. The day is cloudy as well as windy, a sure sign of impending rain. “I’m sorry, too. We should have revealed our identities to each other when we wanted.” She doesn’t turn to him. 

 

He gets up from where he leans and moves so that he stands only a few feet behind her. “I, um, I want you to know that everything Chloe said wasn’t true, and I - I, uh, really do feel… that way about you,” He offers. 

 

She curls in on herself a little more. “Yeah.” She murmurs, and he hardly hears it. “But do you love me, or Ladybug?” 

 

He blinks, shocked, and then steps forward so that he is only just behind her. “Marinette, tell me what exactly is the difference?” He utters it softly, in the most gently manner he is capable of. 

 

She turns to him, emotion shining poignantly in her eyes. The breeze sweeps her hair to the side, and she tightens the arms that are wrapped around herself. She looks so vulnerable, different from the valiant hero who protects Paris on an almost daily basis. “The difference?” She says softly, but without his gentleness. “The  _ difference  _ is that Ladybug isn’t really me. Ladybug is brave, and strong, and smart, and graceful, and I’m none of those things! She’s someone completely different from who I really am. Chloe’s right. I’m nowhere near as good as her.” Her voice is shaking with pure emotion, a mix of anger and sadness and despair that seems just so wrong. She looks away again. 

 

“Marinette,” He utters again. She doesn’t react. “Marinette, look at me.” She turns to him.

 

“What?!” She cries, arms unraveling from their position and spreading out imploringly. “What is it?” 

 

“You are Ladybug.” He says boldly, and she scoffs and turns away. He puts a leather-clad hand on her chin and moves as gently as he can until she looks at him again. “Listen to me. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are Ladybug. The hero of Paris, the wonderful friend, the partner-in-crime, the aspiring fashion designer. You are everything you just described and more, Marinette. Ladybug is a part of you that maybe you were too shy to recognize before. I know that being Chat Noir is just like finding an inner part of myself that I never got to be before. You are brave, and strong, and smart, and graceful _.  _ And that is why I love you. Everything about you - Marinette and Ladybug - is amazing.” 

 

She looks at him, speechless. Tears well up in her eyes. Something about the way her hair is blown back in the wind and her eyes filled with wonder makes her exceptionally beautiful right now. He becomes aware of how close they are standing, and his heart beats that much faster because of it. 

 

“Oh, kitty cat,” She breathes. “You always know just what to say.” And with that, she crashes into his arms. 

 

It’s all very sudden - he finds himself holding her while her head is pressed up against his chest. Hesitantly, he wraps her arms around her and runs his hand up and down her back while she shakes with quiet sobs. He rests his head on top of hers. 

 

They stay like this for a while until she finally surfaces, tears running down her cheeks quietly and eyes red. She chuckles wetly. “Good thing this mask is waterproof, or I’d have to dry clean it.” 

 

He smiles at her quip. “Yeah.” He murmurs. 

 

She looks at him again, really looks at him, and wipes away her remaining tears. “I’m so glad it’s you.” She whispers. 

 

A jolt runs through his body at her confession. “R-really?” He says, a small but true smile forming on his face. 

 

She nods, sniffing. “My silly kitty, Adrien Agreste? It was meant to be. My partner and best friend, as well as my crush. It’s a wonder that I’m not stuttering like a crazy person.” She looks down for a moment and takes a deep breath. “Good thing you make me feel like home, now that I know who you really are.” 

 

His heart melts. 

 

She looks up at him again. A tear that had threatened to fall finally breaks from its threshold, and he lets out a watery laugh as it runs down his cheek. His radiant smile finally breaks out, and he pulls her close again. “I love you.” He whispers in her ear. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I  _ love  _ you.”

 

She hums contentedly against his chest. “I love you, too. I always have.” 

 

He pulls away just in the slightest, so that they can look at each other. He places a hand on her cheek and smooths away another tear that has fallen with his thumb, and she does the same for him. His chest feels ready to explode with an amazing soaring sensation. 

 

They both move in, and when they kiss he feels tingles all over his body, going from his lips to his brain and then his chest and arms and fingers and legs and feet and toes and heart which beats madly. There’s a loud crash, and they break apart for a moment, only to realize that it’s thunder. 

 

The sky around them darkens, and suddenly rain falls in sheets. Rain drips down their cheeks, washing away dried tears and broken apologies. It runs in rivulets through their hair, and with a giggle, she puts her other hand through his now soaking wet locks. They kiss once more. 

 

He pulls away, and they rest their foreheads together. “I suppose we’re going to have to go back to school,” He murmurs. 

 

She shudders. “Let’s not even talk about it. I can’t believe you blew up on Chloe and then revealed yourself to the whole class, you idiot!” She says affectionately. “How are we even going to go back there…” She continues on, and he stares at her with unbridled love shining in his eyes. 

 

They’ll deal with it when tomorrow comes, because when it does, they will face it hand in hand. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
